Capstone2017_Sunlight in Hospital Rooms_LauraBielek by https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq Using Natural Sunlight as a Therapeutic Intervention in the Acute Care Setting en-us 2017-03-29 17:19:00 UTC 2026-02-08 20:43:46 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Brightnessdown.png Presented by Laura Bielek lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164477360
Please follow this link to my video introduction:
https://youtu.be/Jc5UW6FvF-Q]]> 2017-04-03 20:47:26 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164477360 Issue lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479473 Hospitalized patients and patient rooms in acute care hospitals often do not receive adequate exposure to natural or simulated sunlight.
This can be due to:
  • rooms without windows  (Wise & Wallace, 2012).
  • rooms not oriented to the sun  (Wise & Wallace, 2012).  
  • failing to open window shades
  • lack of UV lighting (Hobday & Dancer, 2013)
  • lack of safe place to sit outside
]]> 2017-04-03 21:02:24 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479473 Literature Review - Vitamin D Deficiency lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479506
  • Vitamin D deficiency increases LOS and days on ventilator in pediatric intensive care unit  patients. Over half of the PICU patients in the study had a vitamin D deficiency. (Elmoneim et al., 2016).
  • Vitamin D administration appears to decrease mortality in the ICU (Putzu et al, 2016)

    • ]]>     2017-04-03 21:02:42 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479506     Analysis #1- Nurse's Current Role lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479649 Based on my observations: 
    • Nurses may intentionally expose their patients to sunlight by positioning the patient or opening the window shades or windows  
    • Nurses sometimes open up the shades in a patient's room at the patient's request
    • Never seen a patient taken outside
    •  Nurses have accommodated patient requests to be switched to a room with a window that faces the sun
    • Patients are not routinely exposed to sufficient sunlight while hospitalized because nurses do not consistently prioritize it 
    ]]>     2017-04-03 21:03:43 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479649     Analysis #2- Nurse Involvement lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479670
  • Exposing the patient to sunlight is a nursing intervention, not a medical order or medication (Nightingale, 1969). 
  • It is up to the nurse to create an environment that is conducive to healing for the patient  (Bolton, 2014). 
  • the nurse can educate the patient about the importance of exposure to natural light 
  • Nurses can and should attempt to arrange the patient's room in such a way that  the patient receives exposure to natural sunlight (Minton & Batten, 2015). 
  •  Nurses are in a position to  advocate for the use of UV lighting to cleanse the patient's room (Hobday & Dancer, 2013). 
    • ]]>     2017-04-03 21:03:56 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479670     Analysis #3- Challenges lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479692 The challenges to implementing a protocol for exposing patient rooms to sunlight are:
    •  Nurses' lack of education 
    •  It is not prioritized
    •  Nurses may not think of it
    •  Fear and inconvenience of disrupting the patient 
    • Time constraints 
    ]]>     2017-04-03 21:04:08 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479692     Recommendations lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479914
  • Educate the nurse about the many benefits of sunlight exposure  
  •  Make opening the window shades part of the daily routine.
  • Weather and time permitting, take patients outside!
  • Empower the nurse by giving him/her permission to arrange the patient's room to make it an appropriate healing environment (Nightingale, 1969).  
  • Routine vitamin D supplementation during hospitalization (Putzu et al., 2016)
  •  Nurses can advocate for the installation of  UV lighting in patient rooms as a method of infection control (Hobday & Dancer, 2013). 
  •  Nurses should be consulted  when planning future hospital construction  to ensure sufficient sunlight exposure to patient rooms as part of an overall healing environment 

    • ]]>     2017-04-03 21:06:10 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479914     Reflection lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479978
  • Nightingale's Environmental Philosophy has become my personal theory of nursing (Bolton, 2014) .
  • An intervention does not need to be complex to be effective (Nightingale, 1969).
  • The nurse is the manager of the patient's care (Sullivan, 2013). The initiative to create a healing environment begins with the nurse (Bolton, 2014). 
    • ]]>     2017-04-03 21:06:41 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164479978     Conclusion lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164480131 Please follow this link to my conclusion video:
    https://youtu.be/d0DiCpZvumA

      [Figure 1. Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, 2017. Retrieved from http://healthcare.wsp-pb.com/portfolio/ng-teng-fong-hospital/] Though the design is unconventional, this configuration of hospital rooms optimizes airflow and sunlight exposure. We need nurses to help design more healing places like this one here in the United States!

    ]]>     2017-04-03 21:07:52 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164480131     Literature Review- Fighting Infection with Sunlight lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164734139
  • Regular exposure to sunlight can help control the spread of TB (Kamau, Rotich, Cheruiyot & Ng'eno, 2015).
  •  Hospitals can use direct sunlight, UV lighting, and infra-red radiation to control infection in hospital rooms (Hobday & Dancer, 2013). 
    • ]]>     2017-04-04 20:14:12 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164734139     Literature Review- Sunlight and Patient Outcomes lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164734252
  • Exposure to direct natural sunlight  helps wean patients earlier from ventilators (Wise & Wallace, 2012). 
  • Nurses should position their patients to receive natural sunlight to regulate circadian rhythm, mood and increase chance of recovery (Minton & Batten, 2015). 

    • ]]>     2017-04-04 20:14:55 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/164734252     Literature Review- Sunlight & the Human Body lbielek https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/166797959 According to Holick (2016), regular exposure to natural sunlight provides many general health benefits : 
    • primary source of vitamin D
    • required for bone health
    • improves skin health 
    • boosts mood
    • regulates sleep/wake cycle
    • protective effect against many forms of cancer
    • helps to regulate blood pressure


    ]]>     2017-04-18 15:48:21 UTC https://padlet.com/lbielek/bsbsfuayptiq/wish/166797959